Tuesday, November 01, 2016

Yoga Community Outreach for Prevention of Violence

By Kimaya Singh, CYT 500

Yoga community outreach is a reality around the world. Teachers often give time for the benefit of the less fortunate. There are many lessons from the Yoga Sutras that can be applied to humankind today. Ahimsa, the concept of
non-violence, is one of the chief moral restraints (yamas) in yogic philosophy.
Non-harming is the basis for almost all of a true yogi's decision-making.
Choices about how others should be treated, which food is best, and how one
should think of oneself can be boiled down to how closely the options adhere to
ahimsa. Yogic philosophy is universally applicable - even in locations in which
yoga is not easily accessible. Yoga community outreach programs can prevent violence
regardless of the circumstances.

Asana and pranayama practices can
teach people to be present and mindful. In West Englewood, Illinois, I-Grow
Chicago has set up a safe haven for members of a community riddled with gang
violence. Children in West Englewood may go to the I-Grow house to receive
breakfast and practice yoga. Members of the community, including some ex-gang
members, participate in these public practices. I-Grow helps to stem violence
by teaching children mindfulness techniques at a young age, but it also breaks
the cycle of violence that results from years of trauma.

Segments of communities that tend
to be reactive can benefit from yogic methodologies. Outbursts of violence and
emotion are some of the most destructive symptoms of PTSD. Programs such as the
Veterans Yoga Project provide trauma-sensitive approaches to asana and
pranayama in order to disrupt these outbursts. Veterans are not the only
individuals that can benefit from trauma-sensitive yogic methodologies:
programs such as Exhale to Inhale aid victims of domestic violence and sexual
assault through work on the mat.

The Prison Yoga Project addresses
incarcerated individuals, who undergo tremendous stress while navigating the
prison system. Providing access to yoga for prisoners can help to decrease
violence within prisons, but the techniques can also aid inmates when they must
reintegrate with the outside world.

Some community outreach programs
are aimed at working with children in schools. Calming Kids is a curriculum
designed to end bullying in school through mindfulness techniques. Preventing
the trauma of bullying can decrease the likelihood of violent responses to
other stressors later in life.

Violence is complicated, and
ending it requires a multi-faceted solution. Community outreach programs which
include yogic practices are able to tackle the issue at several stages. Whether
the practitioner is a child, a former service member, a victim of trauma, or a
prisoner, yogic practices can meet people where they are and transform their
responses to others.